Summary

Blue-covered booklet entitled 'Proposal for Amendments to the Racial Discrimination Act', November 1983. Review by the Human Rights Commission of the 1975 Racial Discrimination Act, per the Human Rights Commission Act 1981. Published for Human Rights Commission by the Australian Government Publishing Service, Canberra, 1984.

It identifies problems with the act, and lists recommendations for change including amendments to cover incitement to racial hatred and racial defamation. Appendices include statistics on complaints of racial statements.

Physical Description

40 pp plus cover, staple-bound, blue cover with Commonwealth of Australia crest and Australian flag at masthead, and large 'R' at centre of cover. White title text.

Significance

This acquisition is drawn from material selected from the Ecumenical Migration Centre library collection at the Immigration Museum Discovery Centre by Maria Tence and Moya McFadzean. The items selected are considered to be more appropriate as heritage collection than library material.

Acts, Agreements, Bills, Amendments & International Covenants: This material provides an insight into the evolution of national and international policy relating to immigration and human rights which is hardly represented in the collection at all. The Migration Agreement with Malta is significant in representing numerous agreements that were signed between the late 1940s and 1970s to encourage immigration to Australia from selected countries. The Human Rights Commission reviews demonstrate the process of amending immigration and settlement related legislation and the role of the Commission in that activity during the 1980s. The Parliamentary debate regarding the Ethnic Affairs Bill records the road to establishing another instrument in the government management of immigration and ethnic affairs at a state level. The International Covenants document represents a key international agreement to which Australia is a signatory, which has implications for national immigration, multicultural and human rights legislation in Australia.

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